Losing My Baby

First off, thanks for listening. I am so glad I found this forum.

My baby, Murphy, is a 9 year old German Shepard/Rottweiller mix. My wife and I cannot have children and he is our baby. We have had him since he was 7 weeks old. In January he lost a toe on his front foot to a tumor, it wasn't cancer, but still had to be removed. He also developed a lump on his right rear haunch. It was the size of a baseball when he had the toe removed and is now the size of a softball. The doctor did a tissue and fluid sample and says it isn't cancer, but we need to keep and eye on it. She also said it is too deep in the tissue to remove, if it does develop into cancer there's nothing she can do. He has also lost some muscle in his face in the last few months, she said this is due to his age, muscle attrophy. I cannot shake the feeling that he is slipping away from us. I have had several dogs in my life, but none like my Murphy. He is truly my baby.

I am scared to death that I am losing him. I really don't know what I will do when I lose him.

thanks for letting me vent.